There be Dragons
by mountainsunseen
Summary: Stuck between an unsub with no discernible reason for kidnapping and the presence of other victims, Reid struggles to keep Henry out of harm's way when a favor goes horribly wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _No copyright infringement intended. All characters belong CBS criminal minds with the exception of OC characters. Any similarities to actual people or scenarios are unintentional. This is purely for fun._

 **Chapter 1:**

The hateful flame flickered, dispelling the shadows which seemed to permeate the air. He could see his shaking hands in the dim light covered with dirt and blood he was no longer sure was only his own. The stone walls and the dirt floor still seemed to echo the sound of cellar door slamming.

The door would not budge, this much he could tell with what little light he had left. Iron hinges barred the way and would not yield judging by the furrows carved in by desperate finger nails. He was not desperate man nor was he hopeful. It had been too long with the weight of a collar around his neck for him to be anything but realistic. Realistic from the moment he woke up in that basement months ago that he would not be getting out of this alive.

Fresh air slowly turned stale and he could no longer avoid the room.

The candle still burned but he was the only occupant who could appreciate this fact. Bodies curled together, almost sleeping if it were not for the various stages of decomposition. Men, women, children- none had been spared so neither would he. _That was the cost and you accepted it. It's simply time to pay your debts_.

But what a bitter cost it was.

His heart pounded as he crawled closer to the child near him. Mud stained the boy's face, his blond hair falling in front of sightless eyes and pale skin now ashen in death. Still he checked in vain for a pulse though he knew none would be found beneath his shaking fingers. There was nothing more he could do and he knew it.

Shrugging off his thin jacket, he placed the fabric around the child's, no, corpse's shoulders. _A sign of remorse_ , he thought as he smoothed the child's hair, _I understand now_. Gingerly backing away as to not disturb the other bodies, he finally found the clearing where he had woken up by the candle.

 _I'm sorry Henry_ , Spencer Reid thought as he blew out the candle.

Darkness was preferable to this hell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
Same Disclaimers apply  
*citation found at the CDC website.

 **~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**

 _ **Three months earlier**_

Henry's feet crunched on the gravel as he ran. First the park and then Uncle Spencer was going to help him build a catapult later! " _This was going to be the best day ever,"_ he thought

Reid's feet also crackled with the gravel as walked at a much slower pace. Will and JJ were gone for the long weekend and Garcia was sick, so it looked like it was just him and Henry. Not that he minded- it was just Henry was very active and after a week-long case, he was just a tad tired. Driving was out of the question since up to 6,000 fatal crashes each year was estimated to be cause drowsy drivers* and there was no way he would dare risk his godson's life like that. So they took the bus and left his car at JJ's. Unfortunately, they nearly missed the bus so he also left his phone at the LaMontagne residence as well. _Damn it,_ he sighed, _I hope JJ took my threat about not to call me seriously_. He was quite capable of taking care of Henry, thank you very much. For goodness sakes, he raised his mother and himself, didn't he?

"UNCLE SPENCER!"

Henry's voice cut across the empty park. "Can you push me?" asked Henry as his tiny converse shoes dangled from the swings.

They spent the whole day by the swings and the slides before going to the hardware store to buy enough material to build a catapult large enough to launch a water balloon. Reid hoped JJ wouldn't mind.

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" _I should have definitely brought the car or my phone_ , Reid thought as he carried the wood. It really wasn't heavy, just bulky and it was hard to see where he was going. They got off the bus by the park. Henry's house was only a few blocks away and there were squirrels to be counted.

"How are you doing there Henry?"

Reid glanced back at his godson who was carrying the nails, rubber cord, and water balloons. Every so often they would have to stop when Henry dropped something.

"I'm hungry" came the little reply.

Reid laughed as best as he could without dropping the wood. "We're 1 mile away so we should be there in 15 minutes," Reid replied, "How many squirrels have you seen so far?"

"7, but the fat one was my favorite and I…oops." Henry's voice trailed off as he dropped the nails. Reid began to put down the wood when a voice stopped him.

"I've got it lad, don't worry." A man who had been strolling along towards them bent down next to Henry and quickly picked up the nails before stuffing his hands into his windbreaker.

"What do you say, Henry?" Reid asked as he nodded his head in thanks to the man. "Thank you!" Henry called skipping ahead causing Reid to turn after him.

"Did you drop your hammer?" The man's voice asked from behind him.

Puzzled, Reid began to rotate back around. "No, we had one at ho-"

The hammer in question was the last thing he saw before the world went dark in a flash of pain.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hurrah for a season 14 and an episode 300! Same Disclaimers apply. To my reviewers and those who pm me to fix the formatting mistakes, thank you- I really appreciated it._

**~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**

Consciousness returned slowly.

The ground was metal and cold beneath his hands as the boat rocked him on the edge of consciousness. An animal was whimpering in the background- or was it a child crying?

 _Why did the boat smell like diesel? What… How…_ wh _ere..._

The ground lurched. _Speed bump_ , Reid thought as consciousness faded slowly again.

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Consciousness slammed in out of focus as his back hit the wall. Something was around his neck squeezing as voices screamed and fingers pulled at the collar.

 _"We understand, please stop, PLEASE!"_

Consciousness faded as air returned.

 **~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**

This time reality was a gentler. Something small was pressed against his chest and matching his breathing with little breaths of his own. _Henry_ , Reid realized with a jolt. His hands ran over his godson's body looking for injuries, wiping away drying tears. _This was not good, this was beyond the limits of what could be considered fine..._

"He's fine, he's fine. You need to breathe – look at me – _Spencer Reid, look at me_."

Reid's eyes snapped up to a woman who was on the edge of panicking herself. Beyond her, three children sat playing in a corner. Glancing around, Reid took in his surroundings. The carpet was coarse, covering the whole… four walls, boarded windows, a _door..._

"We can't- It doesn't open." Her voice returned his attention to her. Her eyes were calm, but only because they needed to be. If all the children were asleep, Reid was willing to wager her confusion and terror would match his own.

"How long have I been here?" Reid asked, fingering the collar round his neck. The fabric was thick, durable enough to keep the metal wire inside from wearing through. The wire itself was welded together to a chain which seemed to disappear into the wall. _Well, my original theory remains - this was not good,_ Reid thought, absently stroking Henry's hair to keep himself calm.

"Most people would ask where or why first" The woman replied, slumping back on her knees.

"Do you know the answer to either?"

"…No. But you have been out for a few hours."

"Thought so." Reid sighed, running his hand over his face. "I'm sure you've met Henry, and you clearly know my name…"

"Colleen. The three little ones are Andrew, Rebecca, and Laura. I was watching Laura to help my sister-in-law." Colleen's voice broke slightly at this glancing over at the toddler as she colored. "The other two came here a few days before you and Henry did."

Both fell into silence trying to absorb the situation.

"I think we -" Colleen faltered, glancing off the side, before pressing on. "I think we are supposed to be a family."

Reid followed her gaze to a picture frame. The glossy family of six on the dresser stared back mockingly at him.

"He's a collector."

 **~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**


	4. Chapter 4

_Criminal Minds is back therefore so am I. Again, nothing belongs to me. Apologies if people were annoyed by this fic dropping off the face of the earth._

Silence pounded for what seemed like ages to Reid.

"He's a what?" Her voice was low and hesitant as she turned away from him to watch the children. They had stopped, curious as to stare back before quickly darting back to their toys. _Quiet and submissive – survival 101_ , Reid mused before responding in an equal tone as to not frighten them further.

"A collector. Typically, it would mean someone who gathers mundane things for some purpose, to accomplish something or just for the joy of it. However, He collects… people" Reid paused awkwardly. "I'm sorry, that's not … that's not reassuring at all."

Colleen nodded, seeming to size him up. To be honest, she was a lot calmer than he expected. Reid could have kicked himself for being insensitive. "Are you alright? Our... host knocked me out with a hammer to get us here."

"I'm…" She took a breath and steadied herself. "I'm unharmed. Vincent grabbed Laura and I couldn't, I wouldn't risk her. Other to bring us food and introduce himself, he hasn't approached us. He gets angry when we address each other so –"

"So we don't talk much when Uncle Vincent visits." Colleen's voice was cut off by Laura, her soft voice wavering as she crawled into her aunt's lap.

Silence descended as the children gathered near, searching for comfort neither adult could give.

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Garcia was furious. She was sick for two days, _two days_ , and her boy genius had not sent her any photos of her godson to cheer her up. And now he was not answering his phone _or_ the door. She check his phone's GPS location again.

"SPENCER REID. I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE." Her voice had recovered, thank you very much for your concern, and she intended to use it.

Banging on the door for good measure, Garcia dialed Reid's number again. Then the house phone. Reid's again. Frustrated, Garcia stormed away, almost running over-

"Baby Girl, pump the brakes." Morgan grinned at her from under his baseball cap, only increasing her ire.

"Do NOT Baby Girl me and then try to steal away my precious time with my godson!"

"Relax, Garcia- you can come too. Henry and I are going to finally teach Reid to properly throw a baseball. We need someone to cheer him on."

"If you can get him to answer, I will cheer until I loose whatever voice I have left."

Morgan pounded on the door. "Hey pretty boy, open up! It's three against one. You can't bail on us now."

The door remained closed almost as if mocking him. Morgan itched to knock it down but JJ would kill him.

"C'mon Baby Girl, I'm sure he just forgot his phone so let's come back later."

Slinging his arm around Garcia, they turned to leave. Neither of them could shake the feeling that something was wrong.

 **~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**

Something was wrong.

At first creak of a step, the three children scrambled to a corner, furiously pretending to have been playing as if their lives depended on it. Colleen startled awake from where she had been dozing on the floor.

A deadbolt grated sharply as Colleen lunged at him, ripping Henry from his arms before wrapping her fingers around his collar.

"What the he-"

Reid's startled cry was cut off as the door opened. A click echoed behind him as the collar's chain activated, dragging him and Colleen across the floor into the wall. She was pulling as hard as she could but he couldn't breathe. _He couldn't breathe._

The door shut.

Suddenly with another resounding click and a desperate pull from Colleen he could breathe again. He laid face down until he could remember how to breathe before raising his head to confront his captor.

The unsub sat calmly in the center of the room. Henry, jarred awake by the chaos, sat stiffly as Vincent's fingers carded through his hair.

Reid forgot how to breathe again.

 **~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~CM~~~~~~~~~**


End file.
